All posts by Anthony Machado

Pre-eminent Lovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi divides “Lovecraftian” stories into three categories in his book “The Rise, Fall, and Rise of the Cthulhu Mythos”. The first category he calls the “Lovecraft Mythos”, stories that capture the purest form of cosmic horror that author H.P. Lovecraft sought to evoke when he wrote his horror stories in the early 1900’s. Lovecraft Mythos stories include many of the tropes and themes that Lovecraft was fond of using, such as fictional geographies, particularly in New England; ancient madness-inducing tomes; scholarly protagonists; and god-like monsters and extraterrestrials that care little to nothing about an insignificant humanity.

Stephen King’s influence on author Kevin Lucia’s collection of inter-connected stories, “Things Slip Through”, should be clear to any Constant Readers of Uncle Stevie’s books. Lucia’s fictional town of Clifton Heights, hidden in the depths of the Adirondack Mountains, brings to mind some of King’s haunted New England towns. Many of the plot points and characters seem inspired by King’s works. Unfortunately, Lucia doesn’t quite step out of King’s shadow, and too often resorts to horror clichés. Continue reading »